March 2013

Mention Anderson Silva’s name and even non-MMA fans are likely to respond with something along the lines of “Oh yeah, that guy? He’s a bad ass.” Mention Luke Rockhold, however, and see how many blank stares you get in return. For many casual fans of the sport, Strikeforce’s last Middleweight Champion is a virtual unknown. [...]

If you’re Luke Rockhold, and your new promotion has fighting’s pound-for-pound best at the top of the division, it boils down to this—the best way out is always through. “I’m promising right now, if I beat Anderson Silva, I would fight Jon Jones,” says Luke Rockhold. It’s not the first thing he says, it’s the [...]

One of the most successful MMA promotions closed its cage doors for the final time after Strikeforce: Marquardt vs. Saffiedine on January 12, 2013. Since its inception in front of a record-setting crowd on March 10, 2006, the San Jose-based promotion played a major role in defining MMA’s landscape by signing some of the biggest [...]

Kimbo Gotta Eat Since being cut from the UFC, Kimbo Slice has compiled a 7-0 boxing record, including notable wins over…well, he’s still 7-0. Au Natural Randy Couture has developed his own cologne, Xtreme Couture. With citrus, peppercorn, ginger, and sandalwood permeations, it works 60 percent of the time, every time. Old Man Dan At [...]

Spider Bite “I love Anderson Silva. He’s a great guy outside of the cage, and he’s one of my favorite fighters to watch inside the cage. To me, to fight him would be a little bittersweet because I know I would beat him.” —Rashad Evans to mmajunkie.com. Hair Trauma “I was taken away from my [...]

I heard you recently crossed the 7-foot mark. Are you still growing? It’s true. Now, I am 7-feet tall and still getting a lot heavier. That is the biggest thing for me right now—getting heavier and putting on a lot more strength. Does your height make it difficult to find comfortable yet stylish pieces of [...]

Healing Waters According to a recent study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, athletes who utilized an ice bath for recovery were able to maintain a higher power output on subsequent workouts compared to a control group. Interestingly enough, a third group that utilized warm water for recovery also maintained higher power than [...]

1. Curtis & Co. Big Time World Watch The next time you want a watch that makes you feel as good as it looks, slip on a watch from the Curtis & Co. collection. Swiss designed. Swiss crafted. The only thing the Swiss are better at than neutrality? Making designer timepieces. This one is sure [...]

Photos by Paul Thatcher \\ Wardrobe by Chelsea Elisha \\ Makeup by Natasha Chamberlin The World Series of Fighting hit a homerun when they decided to make Kat Kelley a ring girl for their inaugural event in November 2012. The 25-year-old Las Vegan took the cage by storm, leaving viewers with more than just an [...]

Mixed martial arts is the fastest growing sport in the world. It garners more attention and new fans daily. The emergence of so many new athletes sometimes makes it hard for fans to notice some of the fighters on the verge of making it to the next level. MMAWeekly.com takes you deep inside the sport [...]

After a whirlwind 2012, UFC Heavyweight Champion Cain Velasquez is enjoying the calm after the storm. For Cain Velasquez, entering the cage against Brazilian slugger Junior dos Santos on December 29 wasn’t nearly as difficult as explaining to his 3-year-old daughter why they weren’t celebrating Christmas on December 25. “It was hard—we had to lie [...]

By Luke Rockhold // Photos by Paul Thatcher Luke Rockhold gets his blood pumping with “Crazy” Bob Cook’s four-station circuit at American Kickboxing Academy. This circuit consists of one minute on the Airdyne bike, then one minute on one of three drills (hitting focus mitts, ground-and-pound body bag, and Russian twists). We go back and [...]

Cesar Gracie pupil Nate Diaz, with the assistance of welterweight Luke Gamaza, shows readers how he counters a single-leg shot with one of his favorite submissions—the reverse ude-garami, which is also known as the kimura. 1) Nate stands in a southpaw stance, while Luke stands in an orthodox stance. 2) Luke shoots a single-leg, with [...]

From capsules and tablets to gels and powders, an athlete’s countertop can look more like a pharmacy than a kitchen. To sort through the insanity, we’ve got a breakdown of the 10 supplements than can help you reach your fitness goals of maintaining optimal health, building muscle, and decreasing inflammation. 1. Protein Powder Protein powders [...]

Major MMA promotions have a bigger broadcast footprint than ever. So why is tough for fighters to cash in on sponsors? “Is this Mark Gingrich?” the voice on the line politely asks. “Yes,” says Gingrich, who’s conferenced in a call that interrupted an interview for this story. It’s dark outside his office in Dallas, where [...]

Ring of Fire brought the action to Buckley Air Force Base for the inaugural Buckley MMA Fight Night. All too often, phrases like “this is going to be a war” and “preparing for battle” are carelessly thrown around to describe a mixed martial arts bout. Those words, however, have an entirely different meaning for the [...]

You don’t have to be Irish to have a good time on March 17, but you stand a better chance if you choose your drinks wisely. FIGHT! asked some of MMA’s most experienced veterans for their advice on St. Patty’s Day elixers, so skip the green Natty Light and grab one of the microbrews recommended [...]

For American Me’s lead singer Tony Tataje, keeping his music real means keeping it real in MMA. Tony Tataje has finally arrived at his apartment. It’s 9:30 p.m. on a blistering cold night in Portland, Oregon, and the tattooed 28-year-old shivers as he unlocks the front door. A smile creeps across his face as he [...]

Stephanie Ann Cook Age: 23 Height: 5’6” Hometown: Las Vegas, Nevada Twitter: @StephannC Instagram: Stephanncook How long have you been modeling? About six years, but the past few years have been awesome for me. I’m really getting my name out there and attracting more attention. How do you stay in shape? I firmly believe in [...]

For more than a century, the Division I NCAA wrestling tournament was an obscure athletic event celebrated by a small group of American wrestling fans. Today, with the growth of social media and MMA, the event draws a worldwide viewership and rakes in the dough. Before 2006, there were only two ways a wrestling fan [...]